When He Smiles
by Eliss Elusive
Summary: In a plan to gain leverage against Percy, Luke arranges for Rachel Elizabeth Dare to be kidnapped. He doesn't know what he's getting into, though. Rachel will cause him to question everything he's believed in, and in the process, maybe cause him to change his heart. Set around the time period of The Battle of the Labyrinth.
1. Chapter 1

**When He Smiles  
****Chapter One**

_Mary had a lamb. / His eyes black as coal.  
__If we play very quiet, my lamb, / Mary never has to know._

Rachel was at a school dance when it happened. In hindsight, she should have noticed the teacher guarding the punch bowl was a complete stranger – at any rate, she should have noticed the way his muscles bulged and how his height easily exceeded seven feet.

She'd asked Percy to come with her, but he'd come up with an excuse.

Percy always had an excuse.

It was the third slow dance in the last half hour. Rachel had given up on dancing with anyone; she could only stand having her toes stepped on so many times. She chose to sit this one out, standing close to the wall and watching the popular girls be twirled around by the athletic boys.

"The punch is out. Care to help me go grab another case?" the teacher asked Rachel.

Warning bells should have started ringing. "Um, yeah. Sure."

The teacher took her on a winding path through the hallways of the school. Rachel wondered why he was wearing sunglasses, but couldn't bring herself to ask. For some reason, her voice was stuck in her throat.

"It's right in here," the teacher said, opening the door to one of the science labs. By now, there should have been a siren going off in her head.

Rachel walked into the dark room.

The monster grinned, hardly believing it'd been so easy. He raised a hand and hit the girl on the head – hard enough to knock her out and give her a nasty headache when she woke up.

Not that she'd be his problem by then. She'd be Luke's.

* * *

Luke was trying to sleep when it happened. It was a wasted effort – Kronos hadn't let him get one fitful night of rest since he'd failed stealing Zeus' master bolt. Whenever Luke tried to close his eyes, all he could see were visions of a future Kronos could easily create for him.

Needless to say, it wasn't a very pleasant one.

Luke wasn't sure if he had anything that resembled a pleasant future in store for him anyway – with or without Kronos' influence.

The air in his bedroom was always stifling. He didn't dare open a window; something about the sound of the ocean unnerved him. It could have been the fact that he'd tried on numerous occasions to kill the son of the god of the sea – Poseidon probably didn't hold him in the highest regard.

Of course, none of the gods did.

Every night, Luke went through the same routine of tossing and turning. It was rare that he got more than a few minutes of sleep before some nightmare would enter his mind.

Sometimes he woke up screaming. He wondered if this was how his mother had felt.

Eventually, Kronos would allow him a few hours of peaceful sleep. It was hardly enough for the average person to run on.

But as Kronos constantly reminded Luke, if he was average, he wasn't the person Kronos needed at the head of his army.

That night, Luke had finally fallen asleep when a rough hand shook him awake. Instinctively, he reached for his sword, grabbing it from under his pillow and holding it to the intruder's neck. As his eyes adjusted to the darkness, he saw that it was just one of the numerous Cyclopes that worked for Kronos.

"I keep the door locked for a reason," Luke said coldly, lowering his sword.

The Cyclops didn't seem to care. "We got the girl."

Luke couldn't begin to comprehend how much those four words would change his life. However, he did understand what he needed to do next – at least, he thought he did. Stumbling out of bed, he quickly got dressed, opting to bring his sword with him.

"We have her in Room 207," the Cyclops said. Luke nodded in irritation, waving his hand to dismiss the monster. Kronos had been clear when he gave Luke his instructions – he was to handle the girl himself.

Room 207 was only a few halls down from Luke's suite. Just like any other hotel, every door was equipped with a security system. However, what most guests didn't know was Luke had the master key.

Pulling a card out of his pocket and swiping it, Luke opened the door with a click, not sure what he should expect to find. Their spies hadn't said much about the girl, other than that she was close to Percy, could see through the Mist, and her name.

Rachel Elizabeth Dare.

She was dressed in a brightly colored formal dress, and her unruly red hair was escaping the bun it'd been forced into. Luke noticed they'd bound her wrists and ankles. He also noticed that she couldn't be more than 16.

_Growing a conscience?_

Luke shook his head. They'd manipulated people far younger for their cause.

He grabbed a chair and decided to wait. There was no hurry to wake her.

Unfortunately, it gave him time to think about what he had to.

Eventually, her eyes slowly opened. "God, that was some fucking weird dream…" she said, trailing off when she saw Luke. Her green eyes immediately widened. "Oh shit."

Luke grinned, standing up.

"You abducted me," Rachel said as Luke walked towards her.

"Yes."

"You're going to kill me," she guessed. Luke had to give her credit – hardly any of the fear he saw in her eyes reached her voice.

"Not quite."

Luke watched with amusement as Rachel tried to figure it out. "You know they'll file a missing person's report. Percy will know – he'll know where to look for me."

"That's what we're hoping for."

_Notes: Set before BotL in case you didn't read the description. Reviews are love and inspiration. _


	2. Chapter 2

**When He Smiles**

**Chapter Two**

_I am not Jasmine. / I am Aladdin._

_So far ahead these bums is lagging. / I'm starting to feel like a dungeon dragon._

_Ra Ra. / Like a dungeon dragon._

Rachel had never been so scared in her life.

Percy had told her about Luke. However, the brief description hadn't prepared her for the man who stood before her.

Luke's eyes were cold, and though his voice was quiet, it carried a deadly force. "I don't want to hurt you, Rachel," he said. She was convinced he was lying.

"I don't think I believe you."

Luke held up his sword. For a split second, Rachel completely believed he was going to kill her. Without any flourish, he brought his sword down and cut through the bonds around her wrists and ankles. "My mother taught me never to hit a girl," he said, dry humor in his voice.

"Oh, but kidnapping them is completely fine," Rachel spat, rubbing her wrists.

"Just following orders."

Luke set his sword on the dresser, and Rachel took her first real look at the room. It hardly looked like a place to hold a captive. Really, it looked more like a hotel room. There was a giant bed, as well as a dresser with a large TV attached to the wall. Everything looked brand new – and expensive.

"This is where you'll be staying. Eventually, you'll be welcome to explore more of the ship, but for now…" Luke trailed off, waving a hand vaguely. "There's clothes in the dresser, and the TV gets just about every channel. The bathroom is stocked, too."

Rachel folded her arms and sat on the bed. She thought about making a grab for the sword, but even if she got past Luke…

"It's at least a hundred miles to the nearest shore. I wouldn't try it," Luke said.

Rachel had a feeling she was going to hate this guy.

* * *

Luke had never been so frustrated in his life.

Kronos had instructed that he was to stay with the girl until he was given further orders. After four hours, he was seriously questioning what Kronos was waiting for.

"Are you hungry?" Luke tried. Rachel just stared blankly past him, pretending to be interested in whatever was on the TV. "Do you need anything?"

Rachel made no sign that she'd heard him.

"Look, I don't want to be here anymore than you do," Luke said. "I'd love to leave you alone, but I've got orders."

"Sorry for not making things convenient for you."

Luke wanted nothing more than to get away from the girl. "Look, here you go," he said, handing her his sword. "Go ahead – take it. Try and fight your way past me."

Rachel took the sword, looking at her reflection in the blade before setting it on her lap. "I think I'll wait to use it later, thanks." When Luke reached for it back, Rachel shook her head and grasped it firmly. "Nope, it's mine till I decide to use it."

Luke wanted to kill her with his bare hands.

_She's clever. You're free to go, but make sure she knows you'll be back._

_But my sword-_

_Is hers for now._

"I'll be back," Luke promised Rachel.

"I'll be waiting," she said, tracing a finger over the shiny surface of the blade.

Luke had a feeling he was going to hate this girl.


	3. Chapter 3

**When He Smiles  
****Chapter Three**

_Cause I didn't mean to hurt him. / Could have been somebody's son.  
__And I took his heart when I pulled out that gun. / Rum pa pa pum. Man down._

Luke didn't think Rachel understood how much he needed his sword. It was like his security blanket – without it, he found himself constantly looking over his shoulder in paranoia.

And sleep? Forget about it. He couldn't relax enough to close his eyes for more than a few moments before the fear of being strangled in his sleep by one of Kronos' monsters became overwhelming.

It'd been three days since he'd last visited Rachel. He figured it was time to pay her a much-needed visit.

Luke gave her the courtesy of a knock before unlocking her door and striding in. Rachel was wearing an oversized pair of pajamas, sitting on the bed watching TV; Luke's eyes immediately went to his sword lying at her feet.

"You guys got me the wrong size clothes," Rachel said, not looking away from the TV. It was tuned to CNN – they were going through a feature on all the people who had recently gone missing.

"Sorry we're not as great as the Hilton," Luke said. "You're wasting your time watching the news – no one but Percy will find you out here."

"Someone got up on the wrong side of the bed."

"I haven't slept in three days."

"Why not?" Rachel asked, looking at him. The bloodshot eyes and bags under his eyes validated his story.

"I can't sleep."

"No shit." She went back to watching TV, seemingly content to ignore him.

"Not without my sword, I mean."

"I feel so terrible," Rachel deadpanned.

Luke groaned and sat down on the bed next to Rachel. "You think you've got it rough right now? Try being out of this room with the empousi and Cyclopes."

"You chose this. I didn't."

"If it makes you feel better, I'm sorry you got wrapped up in all this," Luke said. Truthfully, he didn't like it when innocent people got involved.

"If it makes any difference to you, I don't believe you," Rachel retorted.

Luke didn't know what else to say. He settled for sitting there in silence as Rachel flipped through the channels on TV, not resting on any one for more than a few minutes. He wondered how long it would be before Percy showed up to save her.

Finally, Rachel turned down the volume on the TV. "You can sleep here if you want," she offered.

Luke narrowed his eyes. "What's the catch?"

"Besides trusting me not to kill you in your sleep, there's none."

Luke thought over the offer for a moment. He figured he wouldn't sleep that deeply. If she tried to pull anything, he'd wake up in time to stop her. "Fine," he said, laying back and closing his eyes.

He was so tired that in a few moments he'd fallen into most immediate sleep he'd had in years.

* * *

Rachel didn't think Luke understood just how much she wanted to kill him. She knew that if she got rid of him, someone less pleasant would just took his place, but it wasn't enough to convince her brain that the man responsible for kidnapping her deserved to live.

She was angry, and she needed someone to lash out at.

The second she was certain Luke was asleep, she gently slipped off the bed and grabbed the sword. She studied her reflection in the shiny metal. Did she have what it took to kill someone?

The blade was heavy and awkward in her hands. She doubted she had the strength to hold it properly. However, with her target out cold, she hardly thought proper form mattered.

Rachel kept going back and forth in her mind until she slowly stood up, holding the sword with both hands. She stood over Luke's sleeping form, ready to bring the blade down and end him.

"Please don't hurt her," Luke whispered, twitching in his sleep. "I'll do anything, just don't hurt her."

Something in Rachel made her hesitate.

Luke continued talking in his sleep, his pleas becoming more and more frantic. A line of sweat broke out across his forehead, and he began lashing out at invisible foes, reaching under his pillow for something that wasn't there.

He probably slept with his sword, Rachel realized. It made her feel bad for him, but not bad enough that she regretted thinking about killing him.

With a piercing scream, Luke woke up, looking around the room frantically until he realized where he was. Rachel swore she could see tears, but he quickly blinked those away. "God, this is embarrassing," he finally said, catching his breath.

"Who were you dreaming about?" When Luke stared at her blankly, Rachel added, "You were asking someone not to hurt her."

"Just some girl," Luke said.

"You know, it's okay to show that you have real human emotions."

"I wish it was that easy."

Rachel shrugged. "You got a solid twenty minutes of sleep. Going to try again?"

"No thanks," Luke said, brushing past her and storming out of the room. He slammed the door behind him, making the walls shake.

Rachel couldn't help but think that there was more to Luke than the evil villain.


End file.
